Nordic Newsletter- April 2012

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photo credit: D. Koerber RNSC

President’s Report

What a ski season we have had and continue to have! The snow coverage is still perfect given that it is the end of March. Lets hope we get some more stellar blue bird days to enjoy great spring cross country skiing.

In addition to the great skiing we have had, it has also been a note worthy year on a number of different fronts. Our club membership has climbed to a record high of 492 members (I had hoped we would break the 500 member mark, but that will have to wait until next year!). We hired Andrei Pascu as our first full time coach and Custodian. We introduced many new programs including Masters Ski group, ski clinics, private coached ski lessons, Mom and Tots ski group and a new School Ski program. In addition our grooming crew now has 11 members on its roaster. The groomers put in a record number of hours to ensure our trails were and continue to be groomed on a regular and timely basis. The Team Scream had the most teams ever enter the event, the Lantern Ski used Mickey’s Loop and the Day Lodge to be the centre of activities and the George Grey (ex-national cross country ski team member) ski workshop weekend was a huge success. Thank you to all of the many club volunteers who made this long list of accomplishments happen. Were it not for the dedication and commitment of our club volunteers, none of this would have happened.

Our plans for the upcoming summer include the replacement of two trail bridges (Creek Crawl and BCIT), building a new open side roofed structure to store the Ginzu Groomer and other attachments during the winter months, and a minor trail re-route of BCIT to avoid the steep curve. We will have our annual trail brushing work party sometime in the early fall.

Next year, Cross Country BC has offered the club the opportunity to host the BC Midget Cross Country Ski Championships. This event draws approximately 150 – 200 young skiers and their families for a weekend of fun races and events in early March of 2013. As an Executive, we have accepted this offer and look forward with enthusiasm to hosting this event that will give our Club the opportunity to showcase our excellent ski trails and facilities to skiers from across the province.

Finally, our Annual General Meeting is scheduled for April 16th, 7PM at the Day Lodge. We hope you will be able to attend the AGM to hear reports from the Executive, participate in the election of new Directors, raise any questions or concerns you may have, as well as have one last opportunity to socialize with club members this season.

Dave Kaegi, Club President

Trails Report

As the season slowly winds down, there is still a considerable snowpack on the trails. All reports I’ve had is that the skiing is awesome so don’t put those skis away yet! I would like to take this time to thank all our volunteer groomers this year for all their time and the amazing grooming. This includes Al McInnes, Mickey Olsen, Dave Kaegi, Daryl Ross, Tom Patry, Wade Viznaugh, Rob Evans, Mark Davis, Jeff Ferguson, Jim Martinuk and Kevin Bollefer. I think grooming went very well this year and we will try to refine it a bit and make it even better next year! I would also like to thank Tom Patry from Grizzly Auto for all the times he dropped everything to help us keep our groomer operating this winter. Even with the flu he got out there to fix things a few times. Between Tom and Al, they kept things going.

This summer we are planning to replace two bridges and construct a short trail off BCIT with the funds we acquired last year. That and a few other touch ups should make next year as great as this one. Have a great summer and we’ll see you next fall when we will be doing our annual trail maintenance. Stay tuned….. Kevin Bollefer, Trails and Grooming Director

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!

A very big thank you to Mary Clayton and Angus Woodman for their dedication to the RNSC board.

Mary Clayton has been a board member for six years. Her hard work and dedication to Ski League has been a huge asset to the club!

Angus joined the board in 2010 also working with ski league. We couldn’t run the club without the hardwork of these board members! We wish Angus and Mary happy trails!

Master’s Skiing

Master’s skiing has wrapped up! Thanks to everyone who participated. Most skiers had a chance to re-visit the fundamentals of stance, posture and propulsion and came away with improved form and increased efficiency, both of which make skiing more fun! Thanks also to Coach Andrei for his dedication to the program and hard work, just on the heels of his big move from Romania. He mentioned more than once that getting adults to re-learn a skill is much more difficult than teaching kids new skills, so we may have truly tested his coaching skills. We will be looking at next year to re-jig the master’s programs to best accommodate the large number of interested skiers and variety of skill levels, and may add new elements such as fall dryland training.

Recently, four master’s skiers represented Revelstoke at the Canadian Nordic Master’s Championships in Golden. The Golden Nordic Club put on a great event with very nice rolling courses. Stuart Smith, Brendan MacIntosh, Pete Smillie and Thom Madlung participated in the 20km skate and 30km classic events, with Stuart and Brendan bringing home silver medals. Congratulations!

Ski League

Once again, the Revelstoke Nordic Ski Club’s Ski League has held a successful season. By groups the numbers were 17 Bunnies (ages 4 – 6), 24 Rabbits (ages 7 – 9), 14 Track Attack (10 – 12) and 12 Junior Development (13+). In addition, this year a new group was developed for kids 10 and older who did not want to compete. Dubbed the Trail Blazers, this highly successful group had nine eager participants who learned a variety of skills such as fire-making, winter survival and avalanche awareness in addition to their Nordic training. Thanks to the dedication of coaches Ian Brown and Rory Luxmoore, we look forward to being able to offer this non-competitive stream in the future.

This season was an historic one for our ski league because we hired our first professional coach. Due to a variety of challenges, mostly involving the byzantine process of hiring foreign workers, Andrei Pascu was not able to join us until near the end of December. Despite the late start on the season, Andrei has embraced the club and his new charges, and we are very pleased that he will join us again for the 2012 – 13 season. We look forward to

We were able to afford a coach through a BC Gaming Grant of $11,000 as well as a significant increase in registration fees for the competitive groups of Track Attack and Junior Development. We intend to apply for a Gaming Grant again this summer. We will also be starting the hiring process much sooner, as we were quite surprised by the complexities and length of time it took last year.

Ski League is very grateful to the many volunteer coaches who donate their time and energy to the children’s program. This year, Rabbit coaches were: Janette Vickers, Kevin Bollefor, Madeleine Martin-Preney, Matt Smider, Angus Woodman, Ian Brown and Rory Luxmoore. Bunny coaches were Kendra Von Bremen, Eleanor Wilson, Sylvia Woods and Clara Suchy. Bruce Granstrom, who has led the Track Attack group for the past two years, now volunteers as an assistant to head coach Andrei Pascu.

Thank you to all of the volunteer coaches who donate their time and expertise to create a wonderful ski league program!

having his leadership from September through the entire winter, and anticipate even more growth in our competitive groups under his guidance.

Eating right helps you perform and recover from a big ski day. Here are five easy reminders about staying hydrated and replacing nutrients for your hardworking muscles. Practice eating and drinking the same snacks and pre-event meals to prevent any discomfort or nasty side effects. Stay fueled, stay hydrated and eat right to have a great ski!

1. Fluids are essential for recovery and performance and as little as 1% loss of fluids results in dehydration.
3% loss of fluid results in your performance decreasing and affecting your ability to keep skiing. 5% loss of fluid results in 20-30% decrease in endurance capacity.2. For activities that last longer than 60 minutes you will need to replace fluids and eat regularly to maintain performance.
Start by consuming 100-250 calories per hour after the first hour of exercise, to replace lost fuel. Liquids are absorbed quicker than solids3. Prevent cramps by training and rehydrating.
Cramps are related to overexertion, dehydration and electrolyte loss. Stay hydrated consistently and replace electrolytes to prevent cramps. You can find these in sports drinks, bananas, potatoes, soy foods, nuts and beans.4. Eating after your ski.
Replace carbohydrates within 30 minutes after exercise to maximize muscle glycogen replacement. Carbs combined with protein helps increase muscle refueling and reduces the release of cortisol. Recommended post-workout snacks include skim milk latte, whole wheat bread and peanut butter, yogurt or chocolate milk.

5. Practice eating for your event

Remember to eat breakfast before you ski. Refuel and replace fluid loss while you are skiing. A little preparation and practice will help you ski longer and stronger!

Shayla Roberts is a Certified Performance Coach, Strength & Conditioning Coach and licensed Wellcoach. She is the owner of Evolution Coaching in Vancouver, BC

Junior Development

Revelstoke Nordic Junior Racers have just about wrapped up there competitive season. Revelstoke was well represented at both the BC Winter Games and the BC Midget Championships with the highlights being a dominating performance by Rhys Evans, to win gold at the BCWG sprints and a silver medal to both Beth Granstrom and Alana Brittin for the two kilometer classic race at the BCMC. Also Beth and Alana combining with Kate Granstrom and Elizabeth Elliott to win silver in the team relay. Revelstoke was also represented at the Canadian Championships with Brittany and Megan Evans traveling to Quebec City. Result highlights include Megan and Brittany 7th in Team Sprints, Megan: 2nd Interval start Classic, 1st Interval start Free, Brittany 9th Interval start Classic and 25th Interval start Free. Megan was 1st in Mass start Classic, and Brittany was 23rd. Megan also won the overall Juvenile Girl Aggregate Award. Conratulations to all of the Jr Development racers!

RNSC to Host Midget BC Championships

Cross Country BC has asked Revelstoke to host the 2013 BC Midget Cross Country Skiing Championships. This is a real honour for the Club to be asked to hold such a prestigious event. Approximately 150 – 200 young skiers and their families typically participate in this event. The direct economic spin-off for the community associated with spending for this event will be in the range of $20,000 – $30,000. The BC Midget Championships are held in early March of each year. The event involves 2 days of racing over a weekend with a banquet dinner on the Saturday night for the athletes and their families.

Lodge Socials

There were several individuals who stepped forward this year to make the lodge a well used, social meeting place. These include Hailey Ross, Sally Thomson, Cathy English, Kendra Von Bremmen and others. Thanks for making the Day Lodge a fun place to hang out! We would love to have more events and programs next year, so if you have an idea, please contact us at info@revelstokenordic.org.